Methionine Restriction and FGF21 in Mice
All near alternatives to calorie restriction with optimal nutrition are attracting more scientific attention these days, among them intermittent fasting and methionine restriction. All three of these have been demonstrated to extend life in mice and rats to varying degrees, and the collection of mechanisms involved appears to be somewhat different in each case: overlapping sets of metabolic reactions to low levels of food or reduced amounts of one of a few dietary constitutents such as methionine.
It is interesting to see FGF21 levels mentioned in the methionine restriction study below, as using genetic engineering to inc...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 18, 2014 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
No Easy Answers
Today's post is brought to you by Steve Lopez of the LA Times and is located over on Pete Earley's blog. You can click HERE to read the touching story of Nathanial Ayers, a talented musician who suffers from schizophrenia and does not want to take medication for his condition. On his third court appearance, a judge appointed a relative as conservator for Mr. Ayers so that medications can be given. It sounds, from the article, like Mr. Ayers had intolerable side effects to an older anti-psychotic medication and has never been willing to try the newer, atypical anti-psychotics which have more favorable side...
Source: Shrink Rap - April 23, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Dinah Source Type: blogs
How Diabetes Contributes To Heart Disease
If you have diabetes or metabolic syndrome, your risk of developing heart disease -- coronary artery disease (CAD) in particular -- is substantially elevated.
Here is an article that describes the several ways in which diabetes predisposes to heart disease. (Source: About.com Heart Disease)
Source: About.com Heart Disease - March 26, 2014 Category: Cardiology Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, March 14, 2014
From MedPage Today:
The Role of NPs and PAs. What role should NPs and PAs play in a 21st century medical model?
Patches Fail Smoking Test in Pregnancy. Nicotine patches were no better at increasing smoking cessation during pregnancy than a placebo.
Diabetes in Pregnancy a Risk Factor for CVD. A history of gestational diabetes may be a marker for early atherosclerosis, even in women who were not obese before pregnancy and have not gone on to develop diabetes or metabolic syndrome after giving birth.
Allergies May Explain Post-Op Knee Pain. Pain that persists after a successful joint replacement operation might be due to a...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 14, 2014 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Diabetes Endocrinology OB/GYN orthopedics Source Type: blogs
One More Reason to Exercise
When most disregulated eaters think about genes, they look at them as static predeterminants of body weight, but there is more going on than meets the eye. Did you know that you can actually change your cellular structure by exercising?
“How exercise changes cells is a mystery” (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 8/27/13, p. 18F), reminds us that some of our genes turn on and off—called expression—“depending on what biochemical signals they receive from elsewhere in the body. When they turn on, genes express various proteins that, in turn, prompt a range of physiological actions.” For example, it turns out that somethi...
Source: Normal Eating - February 28, 2014 Category: Eating Disorders Authors: eatnormalnow Source Type: blogs
Ces3 (Ces1) Inhibition As a Drug Target
Update: the nomenclature of these enzymes is messy - see the comments.
Here's another activity-based proteomics result that I've been meaning to link to - in this one, the Cravatt group strengthens the case for carboxylesterase 3 as a potential target for metabolic disease. From what I can see, that enzyme was first identified back in about 2004, one of who-knows-how-many others that have similar mechanisms and can hydrolyze who-knows-how-many esters and ester-like substrates. Picking your way through all those things from first principles would be a nightmare - thus the activity-based approach, where you look for interes...
Source: In the Pipeline - February 21, 2014 Category: Chemists Tags: Biological News Source Type: blogs
Notes to myself – 2
Pentobarb coma – BIS should be 10-20 and SR (suppression ratio) should be 70-80
Consider lev albuterol
Should give vaccines after coiling of spleen or before if possible
No calcium channel blockers post MI definitely and post op in general
Toradol inhibits spine healing
Don’t do endoscopes with patients in supine position
don’t ambulate patients with known dvt’s. wait 2-3 days until clots get stuck.
dvt’s even with filter get heparin as much as possible for post phlebitic syndrome and to retard new clot formation
diffuse alveolar hemorrhage – secondary to chemo, goodpasture’s, wege...
Source: Inside Surgery - December 31, 2013 Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: General Source Type: blogs
Walnuts Improve Blood Vessel Function
By Diane Fennell
If you've resolved to improve your diet in 2014, there's one small step you can take that will reap big rewards, according to new research from the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center: incorporating walnuts into your diet.
Previous studies have established the health benefits of nuts, including lowering cholesterol levels, facilitating weight loss, decreasing the risk of heart disease, and boosting brain health.
To determine the effect of walnuts on cardiovascular health in overweight adults, the researchers looked at 46 nonsmokers ages 30–75 who had a body-mass index (BMI) greater than 25 (...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - December 27, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Diane Fennell Source Type: blogs
The Harmful Health Effects of Sugar; Next Steps?
I have warmed to the idea that we need to develop some effective methods for controlling the consumption of sugar because of its harmful health effects and its semi-addictive nature (see: Some Salty Facts Keeping to a Healthy Diet, American Academy of Family Physicians Cozies Up to Coke, Hospitals Should Now Ban the Sale of Any Beverages with Added Sugar). Forbes recently published an excellent article on sugar, quoting a Credit Suisse report. (see: Sugar Linked To $1 Trillion In U.S. Healthcare Spending). Below is an excerpt from it:
It’s not new, but last month’s [PDF] Credit Suisse report on sugar ...
Source: Lab Soft News - November 11, 2013 Category: Pathologists Authors: Bruce Friedman Source Type: blogs
Good Cholesterol Helps Control Glucose
By Diane Fennell
High-density lipoprotein cholesterol, also known as HDL or "good" cholesterol, helps control blood glucose levels by improving the function of skeletal muscles and reducing fat levels, according to research recently published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.
Rates of cardiovascular disease are significantly increased in people who have Type 2 diabetes; low levels of HDL cholesterol and one of its major components, apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), serve as a strong predictor for the development of cardiovascular disease. To investigate this connection, scientists in Germany and ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - November 8, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Diane Fennell Source Type: blogs
Low Fiber Intake Linked to Increase Diabetes and CV Risk
A recent trial from Brigham and Women's Hospital reports that there is a significant association between low dietary fiber intake and cardiometabolic risks, including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular inflammation, and obesity.The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends the following adequate intake levels for total fiber: 38 g per day for men aged 19-50 years, 30 g per day for men older than 50 years, 25 g per day for women aged 19-50 years, and 21 g per day for women older than 50 years.In the above mentioned study, the authors found that on average, individuals only consumed 16.2 g per day, well below the IOM total reco...
Source: Dr Portnay - October 29, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr Portnay Source Type: blogs
Cardiologist: Don't demonize saturated fat (CNN video)
The problem may be the dietary replacement of saturated fat with carbohydrates which may trigger metabolic syndrome.
Posted at Clinical Cases and Images. Stay updated and subscribe, follow us on Twitter and connect on Facebook. (Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog)
Source: Clinical Cases and Images - Blog - October 25, 2013 Category: Professors and Educators Tags: Cardiology CNN Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, October 24, 2013
From MedPage Today:
Blood Sugar Tied to Cognitive Function. Variations in glycated hemoglobin levels within the normal range were modestly correlated with performance on certain cognitive tests and with differences in hippocampal structure.
Sleep Problems, Poor Angioplasty Outcomes Linked. Disturbed sleep is common in heart patients following coronary angioplasty and is an independent risk factor for poor cardiac outcomes.
Stenting Carotid Arteries Risky for Seniors. Carotid endarterectomy and carotid stenting to treat carotid disease worked equally well in younger patients, but in elderly patients endarterectomy was ass...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 24, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Heart Neurology Obesity Source Type: blogs
Do You Know Your Insulin Level?
By David Spero
People often keep close watch on their glucose numbers. But how many of us know our insulin level? Dr. Joseph Mercola says fasting insulin is "the number that may best predict your sudden death." Sounds important. But what does it mean?
Our bodies need some circulating insulin at all times, even when we don't eat. Otherwise, our livers keep making glucose and dumping it into the blood. Livers do this to prevent blood glucose from going too low.
So a fasting insulin level should never be 0, which it might be in a person with untreated Type 1. It shouldn't go below 3. But a high insulin level is just as prob...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - October 23, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
Metabolic syndrome increased the risk for progression to ESRD
(Source: Notes from Dr. RW)
Source: Notes from Dr. RW - October 23, 2013 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Tags: nephrology Source Type: blogs
